​​Star-Spangled Inspirational Quotes... are from a leader involved in today's historical 'Moment to Remember' - Dick Cheney ..."It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."- Dick Cheney, Vice President during the Gulf War

Today's Flag StatusAcross the USA, Our Flag is at full staff, except in Alabama, California, and Illinois. And, Shreveport, LA is at half-staff

Half-Staff Flag Etiquette (Procedures): Flag-raising at sunrise = hoist the Flags to full staff, then lower slowly, respectfully to half-staffFlag-lowering at sunset = hoist Flags up from half-staff back to full-staff, then lower slowly, respectfully all the way down for removal

​​Official U.S. Flag Half-Staffs Today (Jan. 17th):In ILLINOIS, the Governor ordered the US and State Flags at half-staff from Wed., Jan 16, to sunset on Fri., Jan 18, to honor Illinois State Police Trooper Christopher Lambert who was killed in the line of duty.

In ALABAMA, Governor Ivey ordered the US and State Flags to half-staff to honor Birmingham PD Officer, Sergeant Carter, who was shot and killed in the line of duty this weekend. The half-staff will remain until sunset, Sun, Jan. 20th.

In CALIFORNIA, the Governor ordered the US and State Flags, at the California Capitol complex, to half-staff on Fri, Jan. 11, to honor Davis PD Officer Corona, who was shot and killed in the line of duty, while assisting with a traffic accident, on Thursday night. She just became a police officer a few weeks ago. [ Note: The CA Governor did not state the timing of this half-staff - 1 day or until her interment on 1/18? So, with her burial on Friday, citizens of CA, should lower their US Flags to half-staff for 3 days - 2 days before and on the day of the interment. ]______________State and/or City Flag Half-Staff Orders:In SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, the Mayor called for all Flags (US, State, and City Flags) to fly at half-staff to honor Shreveport, LA Police Officer Chateri Payne, who was shot and killed off-duty this weekend. The half-staff will remain until sunset on Sun, Jan. 20th_________Other Half-Staff Happenings: Future alerts and current Citizen-led events

Today's Moment to Remember... Operation Desert Storm ...

OTD 28 years ago, on Jan. 17th of 1991, President George H. W. Bush ordered the start of Operation Desert Storm. And, boy, was it ever a true "storm" of firepower against the Iraqis. Operation Desert Storm, the combat phase of the Gulf War, was a battle between a 35-nation coalition force led by the U.S. versus Iraq - to reverse its invasion and takeover of Kuwait. The main thrust of the war was from January to April of 1991. This war was called the 'Video Game War' because of the remarkable live new broadcast from the frontline and the daily images from cameras onboard U.S. aircraft. The war was a very one-sided storm in which approximately 20,000 Iraqis were killed in battle versus less than 400 coalition forces' combatants killed (including only 146 from the U.S. forces).

Today's Slice of Americana - Sports​... Born to: "Float like a butterfly, Sting like a bee" ...

[ Muhammad Ali fighting Joe Frazier for World Boxing Heavyweight Title ]​​OTD, Jan. 17th in 1942, Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky (as Cassius Clay). He began boxing at age 12 and by 18 he won an Olympic Gold Medal. Then, at age 22, he won the world heavyweight boxing championship by knocking out Sonny Liston. After converting to the Muslim religion, he became an outspoken conscientious objector (having religious beliefs that prevented him from engaging in military combat). He refused to serve in the military after being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. For dodging the draft, he was stripped of his boxing title, banned from boxing, and put in jail. He subsequently won a long legal battle that upheld his conscientious objection and regained the boxing championship in 1974 by defeating George Foreman. In the early 1980s, after retiring from boxing, Ali announced that he had Parkinson's disease. Despite the illness, he lived another 30+ years and dedicated himself to philanthropic and humanitarian causes.